Fuel mixer



May 29, 1928.

S. S. GENTELE FUEL MIXER Filed Dec 26. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 29, 1928.

S. S. GENTILE FUEL MIXER Filed Dec. 26. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fatented May 229, 1928.

*rrso STATES SCIPIO S. GENTILE, OF VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI.

FUEL MIXER.

Application filed December 26, 1922. Serial 110.609 .043.

This invention relates; to a. fuel interceptor andauxiliary vaporizer adapted to be attached to an internal combustion engine,

and has for its particular object to provide an attachment orinterceptor adapted to insure a complete separation of allv u-nvaporized or liquid fuel from the column of air and vapor about to enter. thecombustion chamber. V V

This invention relates generally to the types of apparatus described and claimed in my Patent 1,527,355,-granted Feb 24, 1925. Thisinvention relates'partionlarly to the arrangement and construction of a supplemental casing having a chamberand adapted to be interposed between the carburetor and intake manifold. .The construction of this casing is suchthat'the particles of unvaporized fuel are positively intercepted or arrested, whereupon they are thrown by the centrifugal action of the interceptors against the wall of the casing. It is further proposed to heat the wallsof this casing so that the unvaporized particles of fuel are sub jectedto heat, whereupon some ofthese particles will be vaporized and: such as are so vaporized will become mixed with the.

gases passing through this casingand thus assimilated therewith'and carried to the engine. 1

The construction of the casing is such that the heat may be suppliedby gases taken from the exhaust manifold of the. engine,

provision being further made for collecting any unvaporized particles of fuel intercepted in the casing and the removal ofthis un-. vaporized fuel.

The invention has for one of its objects to preventthe possibility: of unburned liquid fuel passing through the piston rings into the crank case thus injuring the lubricating value of the oil contained therein. By attaching to an engine ,adevice constructed in accordance with my invention the possibility of this is eliminated since all of the fuel which is allowed to pass into-the cylinder has been previously vaporized so that it is all consumed when. the explosion occurs.v I

The invention, therefore,,broadly consists in the provision of a casing, the transverse area of which is relatively much larger than the transverse area through which the column of fuel, at other points in itsypath,

passes on its way from the carburetor to the intake manifold, this enlarged section being these drawings, wherein;

aided by interceptor mented by fuel collecting groove an means of heating, all for the purposes hereinbefore mentioned. 3

One illustrative example of theuinvention is delineated in the accompanying drawings, 7

and the details of construction, as well as the theory of operation, will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, especially when considered in connection with Figure l is a vertical sectional view, through the interceptor casing;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional vie'w,-taken on the plane indicated by the line 22 in .Fig. 1;

Fig. ,3 is a transverse sectional view,ta-ken on the plane indicated by. the line 33rin Fig. 1;

blades and suppleplane indicated by the line i a in Fig.1;

, Fig. 5 is a sectional view, takenon the plane indicated by the 11ne'55 in Fig. 1; and.

Referring more particularly to the drawings it will be notedthat there is; illustrated a. fragmentary portion of the carburetor 10 and an intake manifold 11, flanges 12 and 13 being provided on these members whereby attachment maybe made to the casing 14 forming a part ofmy invention. Y

This casing is preferably "cylindrical in cross section and is provided-at each end with a flange 15, whereby attachment may be made by bolts 16 with the intake mani- 'be causedv to enter the chamber 520 and surround the chamber 19, thus heating the wall 17. .The pipe connectedto the outlet opening 22 may-either communicate with the atmosphere or with the exhaust line, so that the exhaust gases canv flow, through the Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevational View I of the interceptor blades and propellers.

chamber 20, out through outlet opening 22 thus providing a continuous source of heat for the wall of chamber 19. a

separate removable lower portion 23, although this is not necessary as the casing 14.- and its bottom can be of an integral construction. However'the lower wall or bottom of the casing 14 is illustrated as removable and as being secured to the casing )I'O er bv forcin the same therein a ainst -.eration of my invention it has been found,

a circular shoulder 24 formed on the casing. The member 23 is preferably provlded with a fuel collecting groove 25, which may be inclined towards one side, where it com municates with a passageway 26 which connects with a fuel outlet pipe 27. In the op- ..that unvaporized particles of fuel often colparticles of fuel move, by gravity, down the lect on the wall of the casing, and as these walls of the jacket, they will be collected in the groove 25, and may, by the pipe 27, be carried to a collecting tank or returned to the carburetor. By connecting the pipe 27 to themain passageway in the carburetor 1 adjacent the butterfly valve, the'hq'uid fuel,

as it is collected, will be sucked through the pipe 27 by the main passageway in the carburetor, and thus back by the main passagcway into the butterfly valve, where it will be a ain carried 1nto the casin to be used again. This suggested arrangement offers the possibility of a high degree of efficiency in operation.

It has also been found that in view of the additional fuel vaporized'by means of my invention, the fuel mixture may become too rich. Therefore, in order to establish, in

such. contingency, the proper relation bo.-' tween the fuel and air I provide an auxiliary air passage 28 which communicates with" the casing 14, preferably ad acent to the lower end. thereof, this auxiliary airinlet being. controlled by a manually operated valve 29 and a spring ball valve 30.

The manually operated valve 29 is controlled preferably from the dashboard of the engine,the ball valve being displaced by the suction which brings the fuel into the engine. In this manner an additional supply of air is injected into the casing 14, thereby establishing the proper ratio between the air and fuel and producing a satisfactory and eflicient fuel mixture.

Mounted centrally of the casing is a shaft 31, the ends of this shaft being preferably journalled at the top by a gasket 32 and at the bottom by a spider 32*.fitting in grooves cut in the member 23. The gasket is clamped between the casing and the intake manifold while the spider 32 is held in place by the carburetor. Mounted upon this shaft,

so as to rotate, is a plurality of interceptor blades 34 and propeller blades 35 similar in to a great extent the efficiency of' cation hereinbefore referred to. The casing 14 may be provided with a WVhile the construction of the interceptors and propellers is similar in that they consist of a plurality of blades they are preferably constructed somewhat in the manner illus trated in Fig. 6, wherein the interceptor consists of a plurality of blades 34, which overlap, while the propeller consists-of'blades 35-intended to cause rotation. However, the arrangement of the blades of the interceptor 'or'of the propeller may be varied without altering I the efficiency of the device. For

'instance, I may find it advisableto multiply'the number of: overlapping blades of the interceptor, which, while not altering the general construction or operatiomincreases the device; in practice. i v 1 The propeller .and interceptor member arranged the bottom of the casing has the propeller, blades disposed under the inceptorblades while at thetop of the casing" the relative position of the propeller and in terceptor blades is reversed. By this arrangement the propeller blades 35 .of each set is located within a relatively restricted passagewaywherein thespeed of the col-.- umn of air and fuel is greatest whereby these propellers, which. are rotated at a speed dependent upon the speed of the column of air andfuel passing through them will rotate at .a'relatively high velocity, the air and vapor acting upon these propeller blades before-it has had its speed reduced by entering the-casing and after the speed has been increased in the passage leading to the intake manifold. Therefore, the interceptor blades, which are mounted to rotate with-the propeller blades, are rotated with suflicient velocity to throw unvaporized fuel against the wall of the'outer wallof chamber .19 by centrifugal force. I j The principle of the invention maybe theoretically but briefly stated as follows: The column of vapor passing from the carburetor 10 to the intake manifold 11 travels with a velocity dependent upon the suction created by the engine..-"However, a column of relatively restricted area is set in motion by the engine suction, this column normally having a cross-sectional area'equal to the sectional area of the intake manifold: 11 and the carburetor outlet 10. In cases where interceptors are interposed in a casing Whose cross-sectional area is notmaterially larger than that of the intake manifold, the velocity'of the air will be so great that particles 5 of unvaporized fuel, even, though it may have formed adhesive connection with'the interceptor blades, will be swept from this connection by the rush of air, thus reaching the combustion chamber unvaporized, and" the devices prove ineffective for the purpose for which they. were designed, that is, of preventing any but vaporized fuel from entering the engine cylinder.

However, by interposing a casing whose cross-sectional area is greater than the cross-sectional area of the carburetor outlet the speed of the column of fuel and air is decreased in proportion to the square of the increased diameter of the casing. Therefore, when the column of vapor reaches the easing 1% of my present construction, the velocity of the column is decreased to such an extent that the centrifugal force acting on particles of liquid on the interceptor blades is relatively great compared to the force caused by the friction of the air and vapor rushing through these passages. For this reason particles of unvaporized fuel will be thrown against the wall 17 of the casing.

This wall is heated, as hereinbefore men tioned, by gases taken from. the exhaust manifold of the engine, and therefore, the unvaporized particles of fuel are subjected to this heat and many of them are thereby vaporized. It will thus be seen that a. more complete. vaporization is obtained and the richness of the mixture may thereby be correspondingly increased. It may be necessary, therefore, to use the auxiliary air valve to establish a proper relation of fuel and air. By the use of my invention substantially all of the fuel is eventually vaporized, whereby in motor vehicle engines a noticeably greater mileage per gallon of fuel is obtained.

It has furthermore been found that the volume within the acket is sufficient to contain a supply of gas for two cylinders so.

that the starting of the engine is materially facilitated.

As mentioned hereinbefore, the arrangement. of the propellers may be varied, therefore reservation is made to make such changes in the arrangement and construction of the propellers as may be found necessary and expedient.

Furthermore, the details of construction of my invention may be varied within the various limits, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and reservation is therefore made to make such changes as may come within the purview of the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A fuel interceptor adapted to use in connection with an internal combustion engine, said interceptor comprising a casing, a rotor in the casing including a hub having a reduced axial extension interceptor blades around said hub, propeller blades attached to said hub extension, said propeller blades being positioned where the air velocity is relatively great while the interceptor blades are located where air velocities are relatively small.

2. An internal combustion engine fuel interceptor for insertion between a carburetor and intake manifold of an internal combustion engine including a casing having an inlet conduit of less diameter than the casing, a rotor in the conduit including a set of propeller blades, and a set of Y-shaped interceptor blades disposed above the propeller blades and arranged radially on the rotor and extending substantially vertically thereof, the latter blades being adapted to retard the passage of fuel through the casing and throw it by centrifugal force, radially.

3. An internal combustion engine fuel interceptor including a casing for insertion between the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine and a carburetor, and having a restricted inlet and outlet, means for heating the casing, a shaft extending longitudinally within the casing and projccting into the inlets and outlet, a pair of rotors rotatable on the shaft adjacent the ends of the casing, each having a set of propeller blades, one set of which being rotatable within the inlet and the other set being rotatable within the outlet, and sets of interceptor blades rotatable in the casing, said interceptor blades being arranged in overlapped relation whereby to retard the passage of fuel therethrough and cause the same to radiate against the heated walls thereof to be vaporized thereby, and a spacing element received on the shaft and interposed between the two rotors and retaining them in proper relation with respect to the inlet and outlet.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

SCIPIO S. GENTILE. 

